&c. that a London clergyman, who has promoted every charity, and probably reformed great numbers, during thirty or forty years, shall be suffered to live and die with nothing but a curacy and a beggarly lectureship; and that, in the mean time, he who is related to a Lord, or connected with Members of Parliament, though he never preached, and can hardly read, shall be loaded with dignities and pluralities? He who would reform the capital, I repeat, must render the clergy respectable in the eyes of the vulgar, and the magistrates formidable.

No. CXXXII.

On Philelphus and Theodore Gaza, polite Scholars of the Fifteenth Century.

THOUGH the admirer of elegant letters will find his sweetest, most solid and most constant pleasures of the learned kind, in the writings of the Augustan age; yet he will often feel his curiosity powerfully excited and amply rewarded by those among the revivers of learning who are distinguished by the politeness of their literary accomplishments. I was lately amusing myself in this pleasant walk of classical literature, when I accidentally met with the epistles of Philelphus. Though they are not without a few expressions which mark the barbarism of his times, they possess a considerable share of elegance, and partake much of the graces which shine so agreeably in the epistles of Pliny and Cicero.

Philelphus was born at Tollentino, in Italy, in the year 1398; a very early period for so uncommon an instance of proficiency. He died at Florence in 1480,

after having filled a long life with the most laborious application. Let it be remembered that printing was unknown at that time, and that not only the books which were composed, but which were also read, were often painfully transcribed by the student.

Philelphus was no inconsiderable poet, but was crowned with laurel, according to the fashion of the times, by Alphonso, king of Naples. He wrote five different works in verse, and according to his own account in one of his letters, they consisted of ten books of satires, five books of miscellaneous poems, the Sfortiad in eight books, ten books of epigrams, and three books of Greek poems. The number of verses in the whole, as calculated by himself, amounted to thirty-three thousand eight hundred. He has omitted, in this computation, his Nicholaus, a poem in two books, and in sapphic verse, which he composed in honour of Pope Nicholas the Fifth, by whom he was greatly esteemed, and who had invited him, by a large present, to undertake the translation of Homer into Latin. He was scarcely less voluminous in prose, but less original, as his prosaic works consist chiefly of translations from Lysias, Aristotle, Zenophon, Hippocrates, and Plutarch. Though he has also written two books of Convivia, three entitled Commentationes Florentina, five on Moral Discipline, and the Life and Exploits of Francis Sfortia, in compliment to whom the Sfortiad, which has been mentioned already, was composed. There are also Orationes, of which Erasmus speaks rather unfavourably in his Ciceronianus.

But the only work of Philelphus which I have had an opportunity of inspecting, is the Epistles, of which this prolific author, in the course of a long life, has written no fewer than thirty-seven books. These abound with eloquence, and with such literary

anecdotes and particulars as cannot but afford amusement to the curious scholar. Though Morhoff rather slights them, yet Erasmus, a much better judge, acknowledges that they resemble Cicero.

I present the reader with an extract from one of them, selected for no other reason than that I happen to be reading it at the time I am writing, and that it characterizes the spirit of the author, and the great attachment which he bore to books. Cardinal Bes

sario, the patriarch of Constantinople, had applied to him, desiring him to sell his copy of Homer's Iliad; to which request Philelphus thus replies: "That copy of Homer's Iliad which the very learned Theodore Gaza has written out for me, I value so much that I would not part with it to any man, for all the vast and wonderful treasures of Croesus. I am really surprised that you should think that I, who always had the character of generosity, should be so much changed as to be capable of avarice, I have learned to give away many things, but to sell nothing: particularly books; than which I esteem nothing of greater value. But this book of Homer is so dear to my heart, and affords me so much pleasure, that life itself can furnish nothing more delightful. Therefore pardon me in this one thing. If I can gratify you in any thing else, you may command me, and shall not be disappointed." My paper will not admit a number of citations, and I will therefore content myself with referring the lover of elegant latinity and literary anecdotes to the original collection.

It is a circumstance wlrich adds to our surprise in contemplating this example of literary industry, that Philelphus was very much engaged in wars and in embassies; so true is it, that the greatest exertions of mind are compatible with the most active life, His writings are not free from faults, from that inaccuracy which proceeds from haste; but he is still

a stupendous instance of diligence and excellence. Who but must lament that after having done so much to enlighten a dark age, and enjoyed the friendship of princes and pontiffs, he should die in his eighty-second year so poor that his bed and the utensils of his kitchen were obliged to be sold to pay the expenses of his funeral. But few men of real genius love money; and of the liberality of Philelphus, the fragment which I have inserted is an ample testimony.

I hope it will not be tedious or disagreeable to the reader, if I mention a few circumstances relative to the friend and contemporary of Philelphus. Theodore Gaza, of whom he speaks in his epistle as having transcribed for him a very fine copy of Homer's Iliad.

Theodore Gaza was born at Thessalonica, but received a part of his education in Italy. He was an elegant writer both in the Greek and the Latin language; but he displayed his abilities chiefly in translation; a most useful labour when the learned languages were imperfectly understood. He translated parts of Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Hippocrates, into Latin; and the treatise of Cicero on Old Age into Greek. He wrote also a treatise on Grammar in four books, which has been greatly celebrated. Greek learning, and indeed all ancient learning, is greatly indebted to this distinguished reviver of it, Theodore Gaza.

But he also was unfortunate, and adds to the number of those whom Providence has exhibited to prove that the rewards of virtuous and useful labour do not consist in riches, honours, or any thing else which the rulers of this world are able to bestow. Poor Gaza had dedicated his Translation and Commentaries on Aristotle's Book on Animals to Pope Sixtus the fourth, in hopes of procuring from his patronage a little provision for his old age. The

Pope gave him only a purse with a few pieces in it, and accompanied his gift with a manner, which induced Gaza to conclude that it was the last favour he should receive. Gaza received it in silence; and as he walked home, all melancholy and indignant, along the banks of the Tiber, he threw the purse into the stream; and soon after died of vexation and disappointment.

I have introduced these examples with a view to animate the student to industry; and at the same time to teach him to seek his reward in his own heart, in the approbation of Heaven, in the private satisfactions of study; and not to depend too much on princes, pontiffs, or popular favour.

No. CXXXIII.

On the Inefficacy of that Style of Speaking and Writing which may be called the Frothy.

ON the decline of ancient learning and Augustan taste, there arose a number of sophists and declaimers, who, in pursuit of an excellence in style superior to the natural graces of a better age, deviated into a most contemptible affectation. Quaint, awkward, and frivolous as were their embellishments, they paid their principal attention to them and totally neglected solidity and substance. This style of writing characterizes the decline of a genuine and manly eloquence. It is, indeed, like the hectic efflorescence on the countenance of an invalid far advanced in a consumption.

In several departments of modern literature, and even in our own country, a style of writing has